Controllers

[sde219]

I've always been terrible about testing water quality. And I've never really used a controller. Neither of these were issues because I never had particularly difficult corals and things seemed to always work out.

 

I'm hoping to take a step up in sophistication but I'm trying to understand the exact purpose and use of controllers. I get that it allows for computerized control of your lighting, heating, fans, and pumps. Also, it could provide reports and tracking of temp and other vitals.

 

I've heard something about the controller allowing you to track power consumption (this would be a huge plus for me).

 

Can anyone give me some more details on these devices? Let's pretend I know nothing about them.

 

I'm leaning towards getting a ACIII or ACIII Pro because so many are coming on the market as people upgrade to the Apex. Would I be foolish to buy one when something simpler might do?

[jnguyen4007]

I've always been terrible about testing water quality. And I've never really used a controller. Neither of these were issues because I never had particularly difficult corals and things seemed to always work out.

 

I'm hoping to take a step up in sophistication but I'm trying to understand the exact purpose and use of controllers. I get that it allows for computerized control of your lighting, heating, fans, and pumps. Also, it could provide reports and tracking of temp and other vitals.

 

I've heard something about the controller allowing you to track power consumption (this would be a huge plus for me).

 

Can anyone give me some more details on these devices? Let's pretend I know nothing about them.

 

I'm leaning towards getting a ACIII or ACIII Pro because so many are coming on the market as people upgrade to the Apex. Would I be foolish to buy one when something simpler might do?

 

Your question started off with testing water quality then into controller such as ACIII.

 

Basic test kits that you need to have on hand:

 

1. Ammonia test kit

2. Nitrite test kit

3. Nitrate test kit

4. pH test kit

 

Test kits that are necessary for salt water

1. Calcium test kit

2. Magnesium test kit

3. Alk test kit

 

I personally feel that a good controller is an investment in the hobby. Controller like the ACIII and Apex can monitor and help you maintain your tank's temp, monitor your tank's pH level, controls the lights, fans, etc. What it doesn't do is check your tank's ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, etc level.

 

The last thing that you need to have is an ATO (Auto Top Off). As your tank's water evaporate and it will, the ATO can keep your tank's water level constant, and thus less fluctuation in the salinity, etc. You can ofcourse not have an ATO but that would require you to manually refill your sump througout the day but that gets old and frustrating very quickly.

[sde219]

Your question started off with testing water quality then into controller such as ACIII.

 

Basic test kits that you need to have on hand:

 

1. Ammonia test kit

2. Nitrite test kit

3. Nitrate test kit

4. pH test kit

 

Test kits that are necessary for salt water

1. Calcium test kit

2. Magnesium test kit

3. Alk test kit

 

I personally feel that a good controller is an investment in the hobby. Controller like the ACIII and Apex can monitor and help you maintain your tank's temp, monitor your tank's pH level, controls the lights, fans, etc. What it doesn't do is check your tank's ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, etc level.

 

I should have been more clear. I've definitely been bad at testing all things but I was more specifically referring to being aware of the pH and perhaps looking for temperature changes - I've long wanted to know how much or if my heater is turning on during a regular day.

 

I guess because I've never encountered overheating issues and the like. I'm a little curious if the control functions are a huge bonus. For lighting, I've always had success with the timers I've used. Certainly, it seems like the control and way some controllers work with the pumps seems pretty helpful but at the same time, the Tunze controller has always provided that service for me.

 

At the same time, I love the constant monitoring afforded by these systems.

 

 

The last thing that you need to have is an ATO (Auto Top Off). As your tank's water evaporate and it will, the ATO can keep your tank's water level constant, and thus less fluctuation in the salinity, etc. You can ofcourse not have an ATO but that would require you to manually refill your sump througout the day but that gets old and frustrating very quickly.

 

I'll definitely be using an ATO. Is there any reason to run that through the controller except as a failsafe?

[johnnybv]

Get the new APEX, check with your LFS for stock as they are hard to get.....

[sde219]

Get the new APEX, check with your LFS for stock as they are hard to get.....

 

Can you elaborate? I've heard fantastic things about the Apex but it seems like as people buy the Apex, the ACIII and ACIII pro will be a relative bargain used. What are the major advantages of the Apex?

[Sikryd]

The regular ACIII doesn't let you track power consumption - I don't know about the pro.

 

I have the new Apex, and I can see on the graph what each thing is using and for how long (ie. how long it is on). I like that feature. Plus it lets me know if I am in the ballpark or a little close to what the circuit is rated for as far as amperage consumption.

[sde219]

The regular ACIII doesn't let you track power consumption - I don't know about the pro.

 

I have the new Apex, and I can see on the graph what each thing is using and for how long (ie. how long it is on). I like that feature. Plus it lets me know if I am in the ballpark or a little close to what the circuit is rated for as far as amperage consumption.

 

That's definitely a major plus for the Apex for me. KW are a little more expensive in WI so I'll want to conserve as much as possible plus we'll be trying to add some solar and wind generation to the property so knowing my usage is key.

[jnguyen4007]

Apex is also easier to set up and configure. It also has a much larger screen than the ACIII or ACIII Pro. Had the Apex released couple of years earlier, I would have bought that one instead of the ACIII.

[Sikryd]

That's definitely a major plus for the Apex for me. KW are a little more expensive in WI so I'll want to conserve as much as possible plus we'll be trying to add some solar and wind generation to the property so knowing my usage is key.

 

Its .11 per 1k out here.

 

I think the APEX is the only one that monitors amperage off the Energy bar, but I could be wrong.

 

You could also pick up a kill-a-watt meter for $20 and measure everything seperately.

 

For me its just a great little addition to an already pretty cool controller.

 

I am still looking into learning all the in's and out's and how to use the RSS feeds better.

[Boret]

A controller is a must in my book

 

I have the ACIII and I love it. I will never setup a tank without a controller. If I couldn't afford the ACIII at the very least I would get the $99 reefkeeper.

Before I had the controller temperature was always an issue. I had a fan blowing air over the tank when the MH were on but I could never keep a stable temperature. I had daily swings of 4-5 degrees. I had to rely on the heater temp sensor (which are not very accurate) and had nothing to control higher temps. Now with the controller it will automatically turn on fans or heaters (and my chiller) whenever it is needed. It will also turn off the lights if there is a major heat issue. It will email me if something is out of whack. Since I have it I have not had a single crash (crossing my fingers). If you don't get a controller and decide to use a Temp Controller like the Ranco you will spend $100 and it will only control one device.

 

pH monitoring is the second best thing with the controller. You get a constant reading and you get a log to see the swing throughout the day. I can see how the pH decreases at night and I can compensate it with opposite photo period for Main tank and refugium/frag tank lights. I know exactly when I need to add Kalk to my kalkwasser stirrer. I control the Calcium reactor with it as well, by using a second probe measuring the effluent pH.

 

You can get very creative and setup cool things. I control when my RODI unit turns on to fill up my RODI water reservoir, lengthening the life of the membrane by not having it go on and off constantly. I also get better quality water (zero TDS) that way. I can stop a bunch of pumps with the push of a button for feeding purposes.

 

Finally, I love the fact that I can control everything from my iPhone or from any computer with internet access. You can see in my signature all the information coming from the ACIII in my tank.

 

Out with the old in with the new

 

If I was right now, in the market for a new controller I would get the APEX.

 

As per Neptune specs some of the new APEX functionality vs older ACIII and AC Pro:

 

* Day of Week functionality

* Sub minute control added on EnergyBar controlled devices

* Default outlet state for all EnergyBar outlets

 

I could definitely use the watt consumption, but even more the fact of knowing through it if a device is working or not. If a pump or heater goes bad and stops pulling current you really won't know with the ACIII or ACIII Pro and that is a huge advantage. Not being able to use Day-of-week is a big weakness in the ACIII(and Pro) or the fact that your smallest time fraction is a minute. These 2 alone make the APEX worth it as you can use the timer in seconds for things such as dosers that otherwise need to run a full minute with the ACIII. The Day-of-week allows you to set events on a specific day. You could for example replicate cloudy days by turning MHs off on Wednesdays, (some people report great results from doing this) or you can dose things on specific days instead of daily.

 

Another cool feature of the APEX is the module that allows you to dim Electronic MH ballasts (dimmable ballast of course).

 

However, you are looking at a min of $500 and close to $1,000 once you have all the stuff meaning, extra probes, more than one energy bars, lunar modules, expansion module, etc... So if you don't care about the added features you can find great deals on barely used ACIIIs. The APEX head unit with 1 pH probe, temp probe, 1 energy bar (controlling 8 devices) will cost you around $500 (Which is a great price for what you get). If money is tight and you can find the same thing in an ACIII for $300 or less go for it otherwise the new unit is the way to go. I've seen them sold for $250 on RC.

 

I run my ACIII with 3 DC8 (8 outlets each) and a couple of the Socket Expansion Modules for lights. I also have the PX1000 expansion module and the I/O Module. I control 2 temperatures, 3 pH probes (main tank, Calcium reactor effluent and Frag tank/new salt water/QT tank), one ORP probe (for Ozone) and 3 Float switched. The same setup with the APEX will cost me about $1,000.

Edited August 20, 2009 by Boret

[sde219]

Fantastic info Boret!

 

Is there really any controller worth considering outside of the Aquacontrollers?

[Boret]

People speak highly of the Profilux. I have not seen one in person so I cannot say much about them All I know is that they are very pricey.

IMHO I think the Neptune controllers are very good (they could improve the temp probe - I know they are trying). They have a couple of pluses going for them, made in the US (we need to support the local economy right? ) and the most important there are widely use so it is fairly easy to get used parts (modules)and support from a lot of users. Add to that that BRK is an official vendor and that you get top notch personal support from the guys at Neptune.

Edited August 20, 2009 by Boret

[johnnybv]

SUre there are, but if you want something that many people can help you with then the aquacontrollers are the way to go. There are a few people on here that run the reef keepers also....

john

[jnguyen4007]

If you want a good and reliable controller but don't necessarily want the latest thing, consider getting a used ACIII. There are more than enough people on WAMAS who can help you with it, including Johnny from BRK.

[johnnybv]

If you want a good and reliable controller but don't necessarily want the latest thing, consider getting a used ACIII. There are more than enough people on WAMAS who can help you with it, including Johnny from BRK.

Yea, many people are going for the new APEX so there are lots of great deals out there to be had on used ACIII's and AcIII Pros. I know byron has one for sale, base unit, dc8, temp probe, and I think ph probes for like 350, glen has a pro for sale in hte for sale section, and now Banky just picked up an APEX today and has a ACIII available.

 

john

[Armson]

Yea, many people are going for the new APEX so there are lots of great deals out there to be had on used ACIII's and AcIII Pros. I know byron has one for sale, base unit, dc8, temp probe, and I think ph probes for like 350, glen has a pro for sale in hte for sale section, and now Banky just picked up an APEX today and has a ACIII available.

 

john

 

 

I had forgotten I told you I had one for sale. It flipped me out when I read this post!

 

 

-Byron